Radio frequency (RF) communication links are increasingly being used to transfer information, and to control devices. As the number of device that rely on RF communications increases, and as the amount of data transferred by such devices also increases, the RF spectrum available for such communications has become increasingly crowded. This crowding of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum requires that RF devices make efficient use of the available bandwidth.
In order to maximize the available RF communications systems, various techniques and standards have been developed or proposed. For example, narrowly steered beams can be used for point to point communications between pairs of devices, reducing the potential for interference with other devices. In addition, agile systems, such as cognitive radios and software defined radios can detect which communication channels are occupied, and which are available for communications, thereby avoiding interference with other transmissions. Some or all of these systems can make use of multiple element antenna systems, such as planar phased array antennas, which can enable beam steering and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas. Systems that can or do utilize such antenna systems include those adhering to the IEEE 802.11n and 802.11as, WiMAX (4G), Long Term Evolution (LTE 4G), and the proposed 5th Generation Wireless systems (5G) standards.
As the telecommunications industry rapidly migrates to the new 5G standard, we can expect unprecedented data speeds, low latency and high reliability communications. To support these advancements, millimeter wave frequency bands are being made available on a global scale for 5G base stations, backhauls, fronthauls and customer premises equipment. The wide contiguous bandwidths available at these newly assigned frequencies enable high data rates. Additionally, the associated short wavelengths allow physically compact electronic steerable (active) antennas to be deployed that offer spatial diversity, spectrum reuse, and high antenna directivity (gain) to overcome the higher path loss encountered at millimeter wave frequencies.
However, current wireless communications technology features omni-directional sectored antennas tailored for use at frequencies below 6 GHz. Additionally, only fixed beam horn antennas and slowly steerable reflectors or lenses have been available for commercial development. These technologies are not electronically steerable and require moving parts or multiple antennas to cover a large geographical area. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an antenna system that incorporated planar antenna phased technology in order to enhance the spectral efficiency of RF communications networks.